Harvey Milk

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Harvey Milk

American politician and activist

Also known as: Harvey Bernard Milk

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Nov 23, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

In full:: Harvey Bernard Milk

Born:: May 22, 1930, Woodmere, Long Island, New York, U.S.

Died:: November 27, 1978, San Francisco, California (aged 48)

Awards And Honors:: Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009)

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Harvey Milk (born May 22, 1930, Woodmere, Long Island, New York, U.S.—died November 27, 1978, San Francisco, California) was an American politician and gay-rights activist. After graduating from the New York State College for Teachers in Albany (1951), Milk served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and received an “other than honorable” discharge in 1955 for having engaged in sexual acts with other enlisted men. He held several jobs before becoming a financial analyst in New York. In 1972 he moved to San Francisco, where he opened a camera store and soon gained a following as a leader ...(100 of 427 words)

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